One of my favorite blogs about NYC, Lost City, has decided to call it quits. Brooks, the blogger who ran Lost City, used his blog to celebrate "Old New York" - notable old restaurants, shops, stores, and buildings. But recently he spent most of his time railing against the economic and political forces which have destroyed Old New York - making the city one big homogenized shopping mall for tourists and the rich. I guess Brooks couldn't handle the disappointment of chronicling the loss of so many New York City landmarks, so he just gave up trying.
I completely agree with Brooks point of view, that economic interests shouldn't necessarily trump history every time. I fell in love with sleazy, gritty Times Square (above and below) when Mama Bunny took me on a one-day theater bus trip from PA when I was about 13. When I saw the unpolished, in-your-face, dirty (in many ways) city on that day, I KNEW it was where I wanted to live.
I know a preserved-in-the-bad-old-days Times Square wouldn't do anything for the economic development of the city, but there has got to be some kind of balance between "progress" and preservation.
If you have a chance, visit Lost City and say goodbye to Brooks and to the New York City I fell in love with as a kid. And while you're there, you can explore Old New York as seen through one Blogger's eyes.
